Half Hearted
by golfer
Summary: For Pikana's odd pairings contest. Bowser wants revenge for what happened to him in subspace, and now he has the might to do so; along with stealing Peach. The question remains though; when Bowser falls for someone else, what will he do? R&R please.
1. Chapter 1

**FOR PIKANA'S WIERD PAIRING CONTEST!!! **

**All right, this pairing will NOT show up until chapter two. However, the effect will massively change the way the story goes. I will not tell who it is. The situation will better say so. I hope this will be my best story to date. Certainly, I'll see to it. By the way, the song Bowser sings is to the tune of "Be Prepared" from the Lion King. I put that in because it's entertaining to imagine Bowser sing, and plus I needed the koopas to march the right way to- you will find out. There are no more references. If you don't know that song, it's still very relevant and makes for a good speech. The words are in italics. The regular stuff is not. And just an FYI, Bowser won't finish the song. You'll see why. Now, enough gab. **

**May you all find love, even from those you least expect it from.**

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"Man I'm sick of this lousy volcano," A koopa complained. He was bandaged up. It was months after the subspace war. The koopas were almost wiped out, and Bowser only managed to save a few from smasher destruction. Master Hand gave the order to kill any koopa seen. Bowser was a koopa, and was kicked out of the mansion. What the smashers didn't know was that on the outskirts of Smash Desert, there was a volcano, and Bowser lived in that. His koopa troop was built back up, at least moderately, but it was never the same.

"It's the only place we got…," a goomba said, waddling beside the distraught koopa. The koopa let out a sigh.

"I hate those smashers. If I ever got my hands on them…" the koopa cracked his knuckles, earning a chuckle from the goomba. The koopa scowled a bit, and then stood up, cracking his back. He was knocked back down by a bit of lava spraying in his face from a crack in the rocky wall.

"AH, DAMNIT!" The koopa cursed. He covered his face as he rocked on his shell back and forth. His face was contorted into a look of sheer agony. The goomba couldn't help but laugh.

"What a hothead," he said to himself, smirking a bit at his pun. The koopa rolled on his stomach and grabbed the goomba, who was now looking into the koopa's blood red eyes.

"You think this is funny?" The koopa said in a harsh, fear inspiring whisper. "I'll show you funny…" The koopa was far stronger than the goomba, so he easily hurled the goomba into a small puddle of lava, about a few inches in diameter. The goomba instantly melted into a brown liquid in the puddle. The koopa grinned widely, exposing a few sharp fangs.

"KOOPA!" A loud, low, harsh voice bellowed. The koopa's face turned to that of pure fear, as he stood up straight and saluted.

"Y-yes s-sir?" The koopa stuttered. Bowser jumped down from a rock that was very high up, so the entire volcano rocked. Bowser landed on his feet, inches from the koopa, and the koopa was knocked off his feet.

"Well, minion…" Bowser started rudely, putting his face inches from the koopa's face. He blew steam out of his nostrils. "See, we won't ever be strong when…OUR ARMY IS DIVIDED!" In a fit of rage and a terrible roar, Bowser grabbed the terrified, trembling koopa by the head, and slammed him into the ground. The impact was so massive that the volcano itself trembled. The koopa disintegrated into several pieces.

"Let that be an example," The angered king commanded to the others, who were hiding fearfully behind stalagmites. "That I am king." Bowser looked around at his "home" if it could be called such. There was no light; the only light that ever shined inside was either Bowser's massive flame, or the sun, whenever it shined through the opening at the far top. When it lit the inside up, there was nothing significant; it revealed the stalagmites, the stalactites, and a few lava puddles. Occasionally, a moment of light would show off the inside of the red volcano because a spray of lava would come out of the walls, burning anyone near them, as the koopa was just burned.

"S-sir…" A goomba stammered nervously in a high-pitched voice, earning a dangerous, murderous gaze from his king. "I-if I may…how many men do we have in the army?" Bowser smiled all of a sudden, which was scarier than his angry frown.

"Why…a mere million," Bowser sighed, thinking of all the koopas that died in the subspace conflict. The koopas, still hiding from Bowser, looked among themselves with disbelief.

"A million?" Kammy blurted. Bowser face palmed and let out a rude sigh.

"Yes, idiot. What, you can't hear?" Kammy's face was of shock; his words hurt her.

"I mean…the smashers aren't expecting anything, right? As in, they have no idea they, or you, exist, right?" Bowser got aggravated and groaned.

"Do I look stupid?" Bowser challenged. "I kinda know!" The koopas let out a sigh, as if they had planned out doing that. Bowser crossed his arms, and sat on the floor of the volcano. He just stared at the wall in frustration. Then, he put his finger up, pointing up. "I got it!"

Kammy rolled her eyes. "Brilliant, lord Bowser!" She cheered, trying to sound enthusiastic instead of sarcastic. "What is the plan? Kill all the smashers, take Peach, rule an empire from Smash Mansion, and have ultimate revenge for your defeat in the subspace war?" She chuckled very quietly to herself. Bowser smiled and narrowed his eyes.

"Yep…" He said, his voice now soothingly quiet. He was on top of a rock and jumped down. "Hit the music!" A koopa brought out an old radio from the 90's. It was about the size of the koopa holding it. He set it down and put a cassette. Music from Be Prepared from The Lion King began to play. Bowser began to sing, making Kammy put earplugs on.

"_I know that you aren't very smart," _Bowser sang, perfectly in tune. Kammy rolled her eyes.

"_Or witty, but I really knew that. _

_In a plan, you can still have a part! _

_Despite you as useless as a knat. _

_Even you koopas should understand _

_An opportunity when it is shown. _

_Your ambitions will be in my hand _

_when my plan has finally flown!_

_So get ready to serve one last time, _

_and always remember your king. _

_You will have redemption, _

_despite my intention." _

A Koopa interrupted Bowser, who was dancing to his own song in a sort of disco fashion.

"Just spit it out sir!" The koopa whined. Bowser gracefully grabbed the shrieking koopa and chucked him into the wall.

"Shut up you cur!" Bowser insulted. He continued to dance.

"_I am ready to kill _

_so just follow my will_

_And your reward will be magnificent_

_So brace your shells for battle and _

_Kill them all!"_

"Yeah!" The koopas agreed in unison. "We are ready to kill! Wait…who?" Bowser smiled wickedly, showing his 16 vicious fangs.

"All the smashers!" Bowser proclaimed loudly, causing it to echo.

"For what…?" One koopa asked, approaching the koopa king. Bowser's smile turned into a frown.

"Revenge! Revenge for you, me, and every dead koopa!" Now, Bowser had just proclaimed this so loudly, every corner of the volcano was filled with his voice.

Pikachu, at that moment, had crawled in a crack in the volcano; being a mouse, he could fit. The noises from the volcano had peaked the pokemon's interest enough to where he decided to fit inside. He couldn't believe what he saw. He came in right as Bowser said to kill the smashers. He stared up at the million or so koopas, listening attentively to Bowser.

"Alright men! KILL THE SMASHERS!" Bowser ordered, stunning Pikachu so much that he rolled out of the crack.

"HURRAH!" The koopas cheered, suddenly in large squares, marching towards the wall of the volcano. Pikachu knew that if they kept going, they'd discover him, so Pikachu ran. It was a massive volcano, so Pikachu could barely see the other side.

The koopas kept marching. There were so many of them, that the sound of their marching rocked the volcano, and almost threatened to tip the volcano, if that were possible. The echo was deafening.

Pikachu was right at the opposite wall, looking for a crack to fit in. However, he became terrified when he could not find a single opening to escape. The koopas were oblivious to him, but they would still squish him if they caught up.

"Intruder…" the koopas muttered, causing Pikachu to gasp.

"_They had seen me…" _Pikachu thought. He ran through the ranks of the koopas, avoiding their stomps and bites by a few inches sometimes. He ducked and weaved through the endless numbers of monsters.

"Intruder!" Bowser realized all of a sudden. He burned the radio playing that song, and jumped down, clearing away hundreds of koopas at a time. The koopas were scattered and the ranks were ruined. Pikachu was exposed to Bowser's wrath.

Pikachu suddenly found himself free of the koopas, but he felt a terrible shadow above him, which he recognized immediately. He jumped up as high as possible, correctly anticipating the orange column of fire that charred the ground where he was. Pikachu landed behind Bowser, staring at his spiked tail. Pikachu gave Bowser a hard shock of electricity, stunning Bowser. Pikachu only needed a minute. He blasted toward the crack where he came in as fast as his little legs could go. Bowser breathed in a lot of air, which Pikachu knew meant more fire. Pikachu saw the crack, and dove for it. He heard the release of breath from Bowser, meaning fire was rushing out. Veins full of adrenaline, Pikachu squeezed himself through the crack.

Pikachu was panting heavily. He almost fainted when he was outside because he narrowly avoided death. Pikachu almost felt a sense of pride that he alone evaded Bowser and his army. But that pride was turned into bitter fear. Pikachu's tail felt as if it were burned. Sure enough, when Pikachu turned his head, the tip of his tail was as black as charcoal. Pikachu had been so close to being burned, that he shed a tear, and let it fall.

"I need to tell Samus…she'll know what to do," Pikachu decided. He ran off through the desert towards the mansion, motivated by what he feared to be an invasion by Bowser. He kept going, and ignored the rumbling of the volcano from the marching of Bowser and his army. What he couldn't ignore, however, was the terrible, wicked laughter of the koopas, and the horrid last words of Bowser.

"CONQUERING TIME!"


	2. Chapter 2

**Hope you all enjoy this chapter! May I remind you that this story will have three chapters? I can't fit this kind of epicness into one. Now then, onwards!**

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**

"T-they're what?" Master Hand uttered in disbelief. He had just flown right in to Pikachu's and Samus's conversation.

"It's true!" Pikachu insisted strongly, waving his little fist around. "I overheard Bowser yelling to tons of koopas! He said 'kill the smashers!'" Samus's face was contorted into sheer worry. Her sky blue eyes looked upwards, as if she didn't wanna look at anyone, or was deep in thought.

"How many koopas?" Samus asked. Master Hand nodded, as if to ask that question himself. Pikachu put his paw to his chin, deep in thought.

"Hmm…a lot! A million!" Samus's mouth went totally agape, and she covered it with her unarmored hand. Master Hand just flew away silently. Samus pressed the pink buttons on the back of her zero suit. She was surrounded suddenly by a massive, yellow aura of sorts. Pikachu had to cover his eyes and shield them from that brightness. Instantly, the light faded away, and he uncovered them to see Samus now fully armored.

"You do that a lot?" Pikachu asked. Samus nodded and took off her helmet.

"No," Samus replied. "It will only work once in a while." She had no more to say, and put her helmet back on.

"What do we do?" Pikachu asked, itching his ear nervously. Samus merely shrugged and walked out of the room, taking a left in the hallway, leaving the confused Pikachu to stare out the window.

"_Oh Bowser…" _Pikachu thought. _"If only we could be friends."_

"I can't believe this…" Master Hand muttered when he knew Samus was in earshot. He stared out of the small window in the hallway. In the distance was the volcano. It was so far away, however, that it was a mere dot. "Bowser is…alive. And he'll kill us all." Samus felt sympathy for the hand, and patted him on his top, or what she thought was his back. Master Hand jerked away sharply, not wanting any contact.

"Well…you're the boss…" Samus admitted. "What do we do?" Master Hand sniffed, which awed Samus. She knew why he didn't want her to touch him; he was crying.

"W-well…" Master Hand stuttered. "We have to fight back…but I don't want to risk anyone's life…out in the desert…it's kill or be killed." Samus understood that all too well. She remembered back to the poisonous atmospheres she had to fight things in, along with other harsh environments. Samus knew that without her power suit, some places would be terrible. Worse off, unlike in brawls where smashers were protected, it made fighting koopas in a desert as dangerous as Mario's adventures; those were always life threatening. However, thinking about Mario gave Samus an idea.

"Master Hand…let's find Mario. He'll win it all for us!"

**

"Keep it going, lazy bones!" Bowser commanded, lashing a dry bones putting a piece of metal in place. The whip grazed the undead koopa, causing him terrible pain and crying out, but no scar. He got a sudden burst of adrenaline, and despite lifting a piece of metal ten times his size, it fell into place.

"Better!" Bowser acknowledged. He looked upon the creation of his men. It was a massive cannon. It had no wheels to move it; Bowser still had the muscle to drag it to where he needed. "How far can this thing shoot?"

"As per your orders, 7 miles, or, all the way to Smash Mansion," a goomba with a hard hat said. Finally, as he said this, the last piece of metal was glued on with a special, magical glue that would never come apart. The bottle of it had the name "Dark Glue". It used Bowser's dark magic to strengthen it, and thus had an ominous glow to it.

"Good work men…" Bowser said, staring at the cannon. The cannon itself was about the size of a Bonsai Bill launcher, or twice Bowser's size. Bowser jumped off a rock to walk around the cannon. He peeked inside the barrel.

"Oh my…excellent…" Bowser muttered. The koopas and goomba smiled, blushing that their king loved their job. Bowser hugged the barrel, as if trying to reach around it. Bowser could almost do it, but his hands never met.

"Hmm…good…" Bowser muttered again, making the koopas and goomba even happier. They still watched nervously, though, as Bowser kept inspecting the cannon. Each time he checked a part of it, they held their breath. Whenever he found no flaw, they breathed again only to repeat in that circle of inspection, praise, relief, and then terror. Finally, Bowser walked towards his men, lined up in a row off to the side.

"Men!" Bowser commanded. "Tonight, Smash Mansion is mine!" Bowser breathed out massive amounts of fire through the top of the volcano, simulating an eruption. The Koopas watched in awe and terror. And of course, they cheered. The koopas cheered wildly.

"Um…sir?" Kamek asked, tapping Bowser on the shoulder. His skin was rock hard, as if no gun or anything could even bruise or cut it. That was the way Kamek always remembered Bowser. Kamek never understood how a short, human plumber could injure or kill such a beast.

"What?" Bowser asked, turning around to see Kamek.

"Well…the cannon is supposed to hit Smash Mansion…right?" Kamek asked. Bowser sighed and face palmed.

"You and the stupid questions," Bowser complained. "Yes!" Bowser blew steam out of his nostrils for a brief moment, adding to the heat in the volcano. Kamek thought for a moment, putting her wrinkled hand to her chin.

"So…shouldn't we have built it outside the volcano? We can't hit the mansion if we're in here," Kamek wondered out loud. Bowser snorted.

"What are you talking about?" Bowser asked furiously. "We can still hit the mansion-" Bowser looked around and didn't see the desert. He had forgotten to build the cannon outside of the volcano so it could hit the mansion, instead of just the wall.

"Huh…I kinda screwed up…"

**

"Mama mia!" Mario cried in total shock. Samus and Master Hand had just told him everything Pikachu said about the koopas and Bowser. Mario scratched his puffy moustache with his gloved hand. His blue eyes stared into the sky in thought.

"Mama mia is right!" Master Hand said. "And we're screwed unless you can beat them." Mario shook his head, which bothered the gloved God greatly.

"I ah can't," Mario admitted in his thick Italian accent. "There are ah too many for me and ah Luigi. And ever since Luigi ah became a monk, he will ah not kill even a koopa!" Samus's head fell a bit, while Master Hand floated closer to the ground, both perhaps meaning the same thing. The three just stood there, depressed and worried, not just for themselves, but the fate of everyone else and the mansion. However, Mario snapped his fingers. Samus's head shot up.

"What if we ah hold off on the koopas, and ah remember Bowser?" Mario suggested. Master Hand groaned, but Samus smiled and became eager.

"What are you babbling about now?" Master Hand asked in a whiny voice. Samus rolled her eyes. Master Hand was shaking a bit.

"Don't you get it?" Samus replied loudly and excitedly. "If we just forget about the koopas and focus on attacking Bowser, the others follow suit!" Master Hand shot up off the ground and happily flew a few dohnuts around Samus and Mario.

"Brilliant!" Master Hand commended, voice a bit higher and less pessimistic. "Go get the smashers. Let's rumble!" Master Hand did an aerial flip and flew down the stairs, probably in the direction towards the others.

"Let's hope for the best…Bowser's predictable, but resilient," Mario muttered. Samus nodded and joined him in staring out the window, gazing at the endless sands of the desert. The desert was their home, but it seemed to every smasher as if the dunes were galaxies, the grains of sand planets, and the desert a universe in itself.

"What the…?" Samus wondered, suddenly flying on her back. She got on her hands and knees and was about to flip back up, but a large rumble was heard, almost like an earthquake. Then, the ground shook violently, knocking Mario down as well.

"Mama mia!" Mario cried in shock. "What ah was that?" The windows began breaking, and the floors caved in, breaking apart piece by piece. The noise of the sudden shocks were so great that it was deafening. The floors eventually caved in under Mario and Samus, sending them to the first floor, with every other smasher.

"What was that?" Master Hand muttered, looking around. Suddenly, the wall fell down, brick by brick, as the deafening bangs continued. Yelling in such noise would be futile. Eventually, the entire wall collapsed, and the first thing that blew in was sand, in all of the irritated smashers' faces.

"Buah hahaha!" A laugh was heard, and Mario was the first who knew it. He stormed out of the mansion, and looked around. He couldn't see a thing though, since a sand storm had suddenly started. Out of nowhere, a large chunk of what seemed to be wet sand hit Mario square in the face, knocking him back painlessly. Mario rubbed his face, and quickly got up. Mario squinted against the sand storm, but he couldn't see his own nose really. Mario braved it out and walked forward, not knowing of the danger ahead. Mario's heart rate increased to the point of him hearing it quite loudly, and becoming a cacophony.

"Mario! I have you now!" Bowser proclaimed, stepping in inches to Mario. Mario might miss his nose, but not Bowser. Mario's hands became fists, trembling under their own might. Bowser's eyes gazed at Mario unwaveringly, his eyes bloodshot. His hair blew amongst the wind of the storm.

"What are ah you…?" Mario asked. "Darth ah Vader?" Mario didn't laugh at the joke, and Bowser was not amused.

"We're alone here, plumber, at the height of our power," Bowser noticed. "And now…the princess will be mine!" Bowser raised his arms against the sand storm, and it cleared. However, fifty feet away, as Mario saw, the sand storm was still going on. It seemed like a protective bubble around Bowser and Mario, so they could fight.

Mario didn't agree to a battle with any handshake or agreement. Rather, it was a hard, fiery side smash to Bowser, sending him 10 feet away.

"_This is a trick," _Mario thought. _"He is planning something. Bowser hates fighting fair." _Mario stayed and waited for Bowser to get up. With a loud groan of pain, Bowser did get up.

"Nice try," Bowser said, blowing steam into his hands. "I'm a bit too good, huh?" Bowser breathed in a lot of air, making a loud sucking sound. Mario knew what to expect, and he rolled underneath Bowser, prompting him to send his flames at the sand.

The flames died out, and Mario was terrified to see that the sand was now solid glass; he could see a bit of a reflection. Bowser had indeed gotten more powerful, but so was Mario. Mario jumped up. It felt good for him to be in the air. The cool breeze against his face and the thrill of the landing was well worth it for Mario. He made sure to kick down at the correct time on Bowser's head. Mario waited for that moment and stomped with all his might. Mario made sure to land skillfully on what was now glass.

Bowser groaned in pain and clutched his head, while glaring at the plumber. Mario decided enough was enough, and before Bowser could think up something else, he gave him a solid fireball in the torso. Bowser grabbed his torso, which had a terrible burn on it, and fell down. Mario smiled at his victory, but then it turned to a frown. Mario wiped the sweat off his face and took off his hat, airing it out. Mario ran his fingers through his neatly combed hair before putting the cool hat back on.

Something clicked. Mario looked around, but saw nothing but sand. For some reason, the sand barrier was still up. Mario looked back at Bowser, but jumped back when he saw him.

Bowser was in his shell, which looked like a spiked ball. It began to whiz like a saw, and spin like its blade. Mario felt adrenaline pump into his legs, and everything seemed like slow motion to him; even the particles of sand flying about seemed as if they were just floating instead of being blown. Bowser suddenly shot forward towards Mario. Mario gasped and jumped as high as he could, stressing his legs to their limits and easily hopping thirty feet instead of his usual twenty.

Mario took a landing, staring at Bowser from the back. He rolled straight into the sand and out of the safety, if you can call it such, of the barrier, into the sand storm. Mario was once again shocked. Bowser didn't roll on as Mario knew he would, but instead, he floated upwards, as if it was a tornado or something.

"Mama mia…" Mario muttered in awe, his eyes following the green, spiked ball as it disappeared into the sandy sky. Mario wasted no time. He put his hand flat on his eye brows, trying to locate the mansion. Alas, the sand storm didn't let up. Mario knew the group would come looking for him. Mario took off, taking his last deep breath before he felt the sand blast against his face.

Mario couldn't breath in the thick sand. He could barely run, as the sand was now against him instead to his back. Mario eventually couldn't walk, yet felt full of air. He got down on his knees, feeling it get easier to move, and crawled forward. Inch by inch, against the perilous sands, Mario slowly began to see the outline of the damaged mansion. Mario got up on his legs, and rushed towards it. Mario still couldn't breath, but his heart was racing, threatening to stop. Mario made one last dive, hoping to make it inside before he would bust apart.

"Mario!" Master Hand said, astonished. "Where were you?" Mario was inside the building, just barely having made it. Mario panted heavily, like a dog.

"My goodness!" Peach said, rushing to her boyfriend's side. She helped him up, while he coughed out sand. "What happened?" Mario breathed in deeply.

"Bowser…caused that sandstorm…and won't stop it…he's invading…for you Peach," Mario stammered, taking deep breaths. There was a whistling sound from the wind, now blowing louder.

"For now…" Master Hand muttered. "Let's fight defensively."

** "Damn…" Bowser said to his troops, hiding in a massive hole. "You guys…instead of following me…dug a freakin' hole and hid in it?" Bowser's tone was normal for him; not louder and not softer. The koopas and goomba nodded. Bowser just stood in the sand, puzzled and keeping the sand away with magic. "I got my butt whooped by Mario…and you guys are hiding in a hole?" The army nodded. Bowser sighed. "Magikoopas…help me stop the sand please?" Bowser sighed and turned his back to his troops. The hole was massive, and everyone was piled in, up to the top. The magikoopas wriggled their way through the other soldiers, and stood in a floating block behind Bowser, just floating with their large, wooden broomsticks. Some had to hold their hat on their heads, for the wind was too strong.

"Fire!" Bowser ordered, sending black lighting towards the sky, yellow from the sand in the air. The magikoopas followed suit, sending blue balls of light at the sky. Suddenly, when the last magikoopa fired off, the skies cleared back to their regular blue, and the sand stopped, and fell to the ground. Bowser turned swiftly back to his koopas.

"Get your lazy butts out of that hole…NOW!" Bowser ordered harshly. The koopas and goomba poured out of the hole, and by Bowser's side. It was very quiet, since they were on sand.

"Now…I said I wanted Peach. Go get her!" The Koopas didn't say a word, but fearing Bowser's new wrath, and out of respect for his orders, they broke all the formations they had, and rushed towards the mansion. Bowser could see the damaged mansion. Bowser smirked.

"_I broke it…" _Bowser thought. _"I busted it apart, and Mario will be next." _Bowser sat on the sand and crossed his arms, watching his koopas running towards the mansion.

"I better go with those idiots," Bowser muttered, standing up and cracking his back. "They might screw up and bring me Samus." In Bowser's mind, that was a horrible thought, and he shuddered. _"Bring me a guy as my wife…sick." _Kamek appeared in front of Bowser just as he was about to sprint forward. He glared at his caretaker.

"Sire…" Kamek said in a serious tone, making Bowser back off. "Consulting my crystal ball revealed something…" Bowser darted left and right, pivoting on one foot, but Kamek always blocked his view of the mansion.

"It needs to wait…kind of in the middle on an invasion," Bowser warned. He pushed Kamek aside and ran forwards towards his koopas, but suddenly felt himself sink into the sand rapidly. Kamek floated in front of him, narrowing her eyes.

"Listen…" Kamek ordered harshly, surprising Bowser. "I predict a woman will impede your conquest. Be warned…" Bowser breathed in a bit of air. Kamek's eyes bulged in surprise and she let Bowser go with a flick of his wand. When Bowser suddenly sprang up, he blew smoke out, and darted towards his soldiers, who were only a dot on the horizon.

"Wait…" Bowser said, slowing down. "I'm magical." Bowser jumped slightly in the air, about a foot off the ground, and wiggled his hands. A great puff of purple smoke engulfed Bowser's figure, so much so that he couldn't be seen.

Instantly, he was beside his army, running beside his soldiers. Bowser was surprised to see the mansion much closer than he thought. _"Only a mile away from victory," _Bowser thought to himself happily, still running. Everything except the echo of the army's footsteps was silent. Bowser felt the hot wind on his face, knowing that soon, he'd have what he wanted for all his life.

**

"Hey…Master Hand?" Samus requested, making Master Hand turn himself to face the woman. "Is it okay if I take my power suit off? It's hot…" Master Hand nodded.

"Go ahead," Master Hand said. "Just keep your gun at hand." Master Hand said that with firmness in his voice; only firmness with no sense of leniency or fear. Samus nodded and her grip on the gun tightened.

Everyone was on the floor, staring at the endless desert through the massive hole. It truly was huge; the entire wall was taken down. Rubble was everywhere. It looked like a tornado had gone through and destroyed everything.

"In ah case Bowser comes ah back…" Mario started, making everyone sharply turn their heads towards the plumber. "Someone guard ah Peach. Master ah Hand can." Master Hand nodded, getting closer to Peach until he was closer than Mario was. It didn't make Peach at all uncomfortable. She had been surrounded by hundreds of guards who fought Bowser, futile efforts, of course, for her. Someone like Zelda, she thought, would refuse, but Peach was never "above" having help from anyone. Peach saw some smashers were afraid, but Peach wasn't at all afraid of Bowser. Rather, she was always afraid _for _Mario, or anyone else in Bowser's way. Peach knew that Bowser would never lay a claw on her. If a koopa ever did, Bowser would have it dead instantly. Peach was always flattered that Bowser loved her so much. Peach, though, never wanted to admit that she kind of loved him back. Whenever someone liked Fawful invaded, or anyone other than Bowser, the first one to go after her was Bowser.

Mario complicated things for her. She loved him more, and he loved her more than anything, probably on Earth. Peach felt bad about loving Bowser back, so she suppressed them by always thinking of how evil he was. That invasion made Peach remember how evil he was.

Peach let a tear shed. Two that she loved always fought over her. Mario did it for more pure motives. Bowser's motives weren't so pure, so of course she'd choose Mario over Bowser, especially that Bowser was putting her friends through all this.

"What's ah wrong Peachy?" Mario asked. Mario rubbed Peach's back. Peach sighed.

"Nothing…just the dry air on my eyes," Peach lied, almost choking on her tears. _"Stop thinking about that!" _Peach screamed at herself. _"Mario is yours, and Bowser isn't." _Mario shrugged, kissed her on the cheek, and stared at the sands like everyone else, anticipating Bowser.

It was dead silent. The sound of the wind was actually loud, despite it being a soft whisper. "_My gosh," _Samus thought. _"Bowser…you ass. You invade, run like a priss, then crawl here. Fight like a man." _Samus was impatient, often aiming her gun at the sand, pretending it was a koopa. She sighed. It would be a long day. She let her mind wander to all sorts of things, like her opinion on the smashers. She didn't like many of them. Falcon was an over confident moron. Snake was obsessed with his box, not letting anyone touch it. She hated Bowser and Ganondorf at first sight. She hated evil, and she certainly hated them, perhaps Bowser a bit more. Ganondorf was more quiet, sitting in a corner surrounded by his darkness, reading a book. Bowser would take things from Lucas and Ness. If they tried to fight back, he'd hit them. Samus abhorred bullies.

"Here he is…" Samus muttered. She didn't think anyone heard it, but suddenly, everyone jumped up to their feet. Sure enough, everyone saw the faint outline of a large, running koopa, and a bunch of small turtles.

"Stay with ah Peachy!" Mario ordered Master Hand, whom grabbed Peach and held her in his somewhat sweaty palm. Peach didn't care much. Mario triple jumped as high as he could to the second floor of the mansion, where he wall jumped while the smashers marveled in his power. Bowser was oblivious. Suddenly, Mario was right above him, and Mario ground pounded him at incredible, mind boggling speeds.

Bowser was dazed from it. It was a signal for the smashers to attack the koopas while Mario and Bowser fought. Donkey Kong was the first to rush out. He bowled over the koopas, knocking several away at a time as he went in an unpredictable line. A punch here, a kick there, all sent koopas flying away in a retreat, or that they were crushed.

Ike's sword came in handy, as one side smash sent a koopa's shell right off the koopa, while in the process ripping the koopa to shreds. Ike watched as the shell kept going, knocking out several koopas. Ike swung his sword to the left, not feeling several koopas smashing into the blade. Ike gave a kick to his right, barely feeling the koopas fly away.

Many smashers, minus Luigi of course, who was meditating in an undamaged part of the mansion, were fighting the koopas. The smashers' attacks would often take out and kill several koopas, yet despite the strength of them, the bites of the koopas were horrid.

"AHHHH!" Pikachu cried, feeling the terrible pain of a biting koopa. Mario flinched and grimaced when he heard that cry. It was so unique, so understandable. Mario heard it as his own cry, remembering the first time he was bit. It was like a knife plunging into him. Though these bites never caused spilled blood, it was still terrible. Pikachu, feeling that bite, felt electricity build up greater than he ever felt; he thought of his own power as great as a Raichu. "PIKAHHHHHH!" Pikachu felt the electricity flow from him, feeling like a charged wire, directing it into a mass of koopas. The koopas turned into ashes, almost instantly. Pikachu smiled and scratched his ears, exhausted yet elated at his progress. _"We're gonna win this!" _Pikachu thought hopefully.

Samus didn't have her suit; there was no time because of the koopas, who were endless and running. Samus was grateful that she had her gun. Samus kept her whip out, and easily knocked away several at a time. The numbers of the koopas were great around Samus, but she always made sure she was never bit by them. Samus was breathing normally, and she was calm. This was only a bit more difficult than her missions, or those training sessions back at the Chozo academy. Samus was thankful, though, that she had that training, because at that moment, she fought the koopas almost effortlessly. Samus ducked though. The magikoopa corps flew in a triangle in the sky, shooting at Samus, for they saw her a huge threat. Samus dove behind a large rock, farther away from the rest of the smashers than she thought. Samus cocked her gun again, and her breathing began to get louder. Everything else was strangely silent. Samus heard the clank of their magical blasts hitting the rock. Samus took a deep breath and stood up over it, exposing herself to their fire. Hoping her gun had enough charge, she shot with deadly accuracy, easily killing five magikoopas. They didn't fly very high, luckily, instead hanging about twenty feet in the air.

"_If only I had my suit…" _Samus wished. _"I would have destroyed all of these things."_

"Alright Mario…" Bowser said to Mario, on top of the Mansion. Bowser just brought them to the top of the mansion, so that they both could have a special place to fight, one on one, with no way for any intervention. "It's just us. The smashers and my endless koopa army are there, away from us…" Bowser grinned evilly, in an attempt for intimidation. Mario was not nervous, at all, though. He had fought him a million times with the odds against Mario.

Bowser breathed out his typical fire, which Mario more than expected. He just walked boringly and casually away from the fire. Bowser quickly stopped, and was surprised. He would have expected Mario to be surprised. Mario just stood, waiting. Mario did have a plan to beat Bowser quickly. Mario made sure he stood on a massive crack in the roof, though, waiting for Bowser's super stomp. Mario thought the crack was from the damage that Bowser caused with who knows what.

Bowser decided to clench his fist and slide at Mario. It did catch Mario surprised, but Mario dodged it, doing an agile flip over his dragon enemy. Bowser growled when he realized he missed.

"Argh…now you'll get it, plumber!" Bowser roared, jumping up and down. This sent shock waves, blue shock waves, through the roof right at Mario. Mario had encountered this twice, and jumped over one. The other three that came were also easily dodged with jumps. Mario was totally silent. He smiled a bit, knowing what Bowser would do next.

Sure enough, he was correct. Rushing towards his crack, Mario waited. Bowser jumped up high in the air with great difficulty, grunting a bit, trying to get his massive girth off the roof. Mario tuned all the noise of the battle below out, so that he could concentrate. The shadow around Mario got larger and larger as Bowser came down. Mario did a roll backwards. Bowser's eyes widened when he saw the large crack that he was coming down on. He tried to stop, but gravity had its hold.

"Oh…shi-" Bowser started to say. He felt the roof crumble under his weight like a glass building. A large puff of dust blasted Mario in the face, having enough force to knock him off his feet. Mario was a bit too close to Bowser's landing, and he was knocked off the entire roof. With a loud scream, he landed in a large sand dune. Spitting out sand, he looked at the roof, absolutely destroyed. _"Heh…poor Bowser," _Mario thought. _"He's probably buried under a ton of crap from his stomp." _

**

Bowser groaned in agony, holding the side of his head. He didn't see any light, but it was all pitch black. Bowser could only hear his breathing; there was no life around. Bowser's head ached terribly. It felt as if Mario stomped him a thousand times on the same spot. Grunting, he tried to stand up, when he realized he was covered in rocks, dirt, and several boards. _"What happened?" _Bowser wondered. He knew Mario beat him some how, but he just remembered them fighting, and Bowser did his super stomp, but he felt the roof collapse. Then he saw darkness. Bowser shook himself, clearing away everything that was on top. Wiping his eyes, he saw he was right in front of the hole that his cannon made. Bowser smirked. _"My men's cannon must've worked…" _he thought proudly. Bowser walked outside, searching for the smashers. He looked to his left, and almost fainted at who he saw.

He saw a blond woman behind a rock, firing aimlessly at several magikoopas. Bowser gazed and gawked at her with total awe.

"Who is _that?_" Bowser wondered, staring at her still without even blinking. It was as if music was playing, and he didn't pay any attention to his koopas, just her. Bowser didn't think she was a smasher. She had on a blue, skin tight suit, and had long hair that came down to her waist. Bowser shook his head rapidly, realizing he was actually drooling.

"_Screw Peach…" _Bowser thought. _"Screw the portents, and screw our mission. I want to marry her!" _Bowser ran forward, making sure he was making no noise, and he snuck behind this woman. _"Must keep my cool…" _Bowser hoped that she couldn't hear his breathing, or his heartbeat, because both were as loud as drums to him. Bowser reached out at her with his clawed hands, and held on to her waist.

Samus squealed with a higher pitch than she ever thought was possible. Instantly, she felt herself whisked away. "Hey! Get off of me!" She ordered. Bowser didn't comply, or even speak, instead just running faster. Samus grabbed Bowser's hands, though she didn't know it was Bowser, and tried to pry them off. However, he was way too strong, yet his grip on her was surprisingly gentle. Bowser blushed a bit. _"She's holding my hand…" _he thought nervously, his heart pounding harder and harder with each foot step.

Bowser ran across the sand, ignoring his army, and avoiding the smashers. All that mattered was her. He wanted to know her name, but it was best to get to the volcano. Bowser began to sweat, the beads of sweat staining the sands. He hoped she wouldn't feel him sweating. Bowser used his magic, though cautiously so she wouldn't see, so he would instantly be at the volcano.

Once inside, Samus once again struggled, but was no match for the massive koopa king. _"What is this place?" _She wondered nervously. The lava shooting all around her startled her. Whoosh. Whoosh. Each one she narrowly avoided. Instantly, she was put in a chair, but couldn't move.

Bowser turned eagerly to face the woman that he suddenly fell in love with. He nearly fainted. He was two feet away from her, and she looked so beautiful; her big, blue eyes were bulged in surprised. Her flowing, blond hair seemed to jump with each bit of air flowing past her flawless face.

"Bowser?" Samus muttered in surprise. "What was this for?" Samus struggled to get up, but sharply breathed out when she realized she was tied down completely with rope. Bowser smiled, but didn't smirk.

"I must know your name…" Bowser said, not with his usual harshness, but softly. Samus raised one eyebrow in confusion.

"You don't know who I am?" Samus asked. Bowser shook his head.

"It's a crime against nature," Bowser started. "For a king as handsome as me to not know the name of the most beautiful future queen who ever lived." It took Samus a moment of silence to take apart that sentence.

"So…I'm a future queen?" Samus said, now completely confused. "What do you mean?" A koopa stood up and walked to Samus, near her leg.

"You stupid or something?" The koopa asked harshly. Bowser grabbed the koopa by the throat, face turning red, and threw him with all his might into a wall. All that fell on the ground was his shell.

"I'm sorry about him," Bowser said apologetically, suddenly calm. "Yes. You are a future queen, _my _future queen, once we're married." Before Samus could even object, a large, wrinkled woman flew by Bowser, and whispered in his ear. Bowser's face, from whatever she said, was absolutely red with fury.

"WHAT?!" Bowser bellowed in sheer anger. The yell was so loud, that Kamek fell off her broom stick and on the rock of the volcano.

"Yeah," Kamek said weakly. "You know that Samus isn't destined to be your wife. Peach is." Bowser's mouth went agape, and his face went ghostly white.

"T-that's Samus?" Bowser stuttered in awe, pointing a sharp claw at Samus. Bowser turned to Samus, staring her in the eyes. "I-I can't believe it…"

"So stop talking your foolishness," Kamek groaned, flying again on her broomstick around Bowser. "Get rid of her and our invasion can continue." Bowser didn't move.

"I-I can't…" Bowser muttered. Everyone, all the koopas, Kamek, and even Samus, stopped whatever they were doing. Bowser took a deep breath.

"I still love her."

* * *

**One more chapter...hope for the best.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright. Last chapter. Let's hope this will make it all worthwhile.**

* * *

"Sire!" Kammy called out with disbelief. "You…_love_ that?" He pointed at Samus, who took the word "that" with more offense.

"Yes, I do, and I don't give a damn what your portents say about fate or destiny," Bowser objected harshly. "I love Samus." Samus actually began to blush, and she was inclined to hide it, but her hands were tied to the arms of her chair.

Everything was silent. Bowser's gaze of rage and defensiveness did not falter, even when faced with Kammy's look of disapproval. Finally, Kammy sighed.

"Bowser," Kammy began. "You must understand that you must marry Peach to restore what your father once ha-" Bowser's powerful hand suddenly enclosed on Kammy's throat, the whites of her eyes now more noticeable as the very life was being squeezed out of her. Bowser leaned in very closely.

"Listen you," Bowser muttered, dangerously quiet. "My father is dead. He has no place in this. I love who I love, and if you don't like it, then I'll have you executed for treason." No koopa could believe it, and some even gasped. Bowser's iron grip was relaxed enough so Kammy wouldn't be snapped in half, but not enough to where she felt comfortable. Nobody had ever heard Bowser threaten what was his own mom. The koopas knew that Bowser meant it.

"I-if you must," Kammy stuttered weakly, grimacing at the pain in her neck. "Then you have no blessing, but no curse on you two." Bowser's glare became even more fierce, and at first, Kammy shut her eyes, anticipating death. Instead, Bowser harshly dropped her, and turned to Samus. It frightened Samus how Bowser's cold, unsmiling, snarling face turned to a warm, gentle demeanor.

"Samus…" Bowser began. "I want us to-" A crash was heard, and suddenly, a large mass of koopas, screaming for their lives, poured inside. Bowser could see that there was only about fifty. "What happened?" Some koopas, hearing his voice, stopped screaming. Others entered into a fetal position. However, none were screaming anymore. "W-we're g-getting crushed," one koopa tried to say. He was gasping for air, and was missing a large part of his face. "And we couldn't g-get Peach! T-they didn't follow us." Bowser didn't listen to the part about Peach. He only heard the "crushed" part and the "followed us" part. Bowser put his claw to his large chin in thought, his eyes staring at the top of the volcano. He wasn't thinking about his koopas though, he only thought about Samus, how he could keep her from being taken back.

"Then don't make a noise and stay here," Bowser warned. "Forget about Peach, and radio the other koopas to not retreat." The koopas, now including those that were fresh from the fight, all gasped.

"Um…then when they lose, what do they do?" One koopa dared to ask. The price of defying Bowser was, for any regular koopa, fire. Bowser gripped this koopa hard, almost crushing his shell like a person could snap a toothpick. Remembering that Samus was watching, however, Bowser forced a smile.

"Um…it wouldn't be safe for Samus especially to be in the middle of a battle. So they will have to run left or right. Not here," Bowser ordered kindly. The koopas let out a breath, because they had believed that Bowser would kill that koopa. The koopa he had in his grip dropped to the ground. He quickly took out a walky talky, or what looked to be one. It was large and square, not rectangular. He pressed a large red button on the side. A loud noise rang out; static.

"Attention," The koopa announced over it. More static was heard, but no voice. Everyone was silent in listening. "Attention." Still nothing. "All units are to not retreat to the volcano. I repeat, do not retreat back to home!" The koopa let go of the red button, ending the sounds of the static and putting it back inside his shell.

"Now, Koopas!" Bowser ordered in a loud voice. "Your future queen will get the best treatment ever." Samus breathed in to say something, to object, but was cut off once again, unintentionally by Bowser. "If the lovely lady says she needs a foot rub, you do it. If she wants privacy, leave. Whatever she wants, you will be glad to do. Understand?" At first, some koopas were a bit worried, knowing full well that Samus might abuse such a privilege. However, they also loved (and feared) their king. The koopas filled in the new koopas about Bowser and Samus's "relationship". You could tell because out of nowhere, the silence was cut from gasping in surprise.

"Ugh," Samus muttered to herself, too quiet for Bowser to hear. "This guy's a psycho. I gotta make a run for it when I get to my 'room'". Bowser smiled at Samus, who felt a chill down her spine at his warm gaze. Suddenly, she felt herself lifted upwards; four koopas lifted Samus up, and walked with her to the back of the volcano; far away from Bowser, and right by a wall. The koopas, groaning and swearing under their breath, let Samus down quite roughly, almost dropping the trapped bounty huntress. Without a word, the koopas walked away. One, however, turned back and stared at Samus. Samus just stared back confused. The two stared in silence, until the koopa raised his hand. Samus raised her eyebrow in confusion.

The koopa gave her the middle finger, and stomped away in anger. Samus's mouth went agape, and she gasped a bit in surprise. Samus wasn't offended; eliminating races was her job, and she wasn't always respected by allies and friends of the dead; the dead from her hand. She had been spit upon, had things thrown at her, and was even almost killed by many of them, so a middle finger to her was nothing.

Boredom soon took place. It almost seemed odd that the volcano seemed bigger on the inside than the outside; the volcano looked small when she first arrived, but seemed huge inside. It was so big that she couldn't see Bowser too well. He seemed like just a dot.

Samus looked at her relatively thin wrists, bounded tightly by rope. Samus sighed at her situation. _"I can't believe this…"_ she thought. _"Kidnapped by a two ton turtle who proclaimed his love for me." _Samus tried to pull apart the rope, but despite her massive strength, it didn't falter. Then, she saw Bowser running towards her.

"S-samus!" Bowser panted, almost falling to his knees after such a run. "I need to ask," Bowser stood up straight. "What date do you want our wedding on?" Samus glared at Bowser.

"Listen tubby," Samus said sharply. "I am not your wife, and I won't be. Now, get me out of these ropes so I can kick your butt and leave!" Bowser creepily didn't stop smiling.

"Love," he said quietly. "Don't worry. You'll come to realize-"

"I'll realize nothing!" Samus interrupted, starting to scream. "I hate you! You're a psychopathic bully who only cares about himself!" Bowser's head drooped a bit.

"I know," Bowser admitted quietly. "I'm so ashamed." Samus didn't reply back. She was shocked at his response. "Samus…I really love you. At first sight, I saw you, and I wanted-"

"To get it on, I know," Samus muttered angrily. She smirked a bit at her clever pun. Bowser looked Samus straight in the eye. Samus gasped sharply; Bowser was letting a tear fall.

"No, to love," Bowser said. "Please believe me, I will do anything for you." Samus didn't even move a muscle.

"There's nothing you can do," Samus replied coldly. "You repulsive beast." Bowser shook his head, and walked away. He walked to the opposite wall in sadness. The koopas that were near enough to hear the conversation shook their head, and made "tsk tsk" sounds at Samus.

"Ya know…" Kamek said, flying around Samus's head. "Bowser's a harsh guy, but he's had it hard. I can tell when he's sincere. You broke his heart." Kamek's voice shook a bit at the word "heart". Kamek landed and was two feet away from Samus. Her white, opaque glasses reflected Samus's blue eyes. "He's like a son to me. He seems tough, hard, unfeeling, but he knows love." Kamek jumped on her broom and flew as quick as lightning towards Bowser. Samus had a hard time seeing, but she was able to make out Kamek patting Bowser's back, as if to comfort him.

"He really does love me…" Samus muttered in total disbelief.

**

"I can't believe we lost her," Master Hand said, pacing (or flying) back and forth in full view of every smasher. "Doesn't anyone know where she is?" Smashers looked at each other, wondering and shrugging. The storm had calmed, and they were inside the wrecked Smash Mansion. Amazingly, it had survived the cannon shot, and Bowser crashing through it. Millions of koopas lay dead, and it seemed like the sand disappeared underneath koopa corpses.

"She ah just ah disappeared," Mario piped up. Master Hand kept flying back and forth nervously.

"Doesn't help, Mario," Master Hand reminded Mario. He was strangely quiet, but his voice shook, as if he were either crying or holding back a burst of rage. Finally, after a moment of silence, Master Hand took a deep breath, and spoke again in his loud, commanding voice that hid an Italian accent not even close to Mario's.

"Hmm," Link hummed, deep in thought. Zelda sat right beside him, creating a dim ball of magic in her hands. None of the smashers paid too much attention, as that was an old trick that Zelda used to predict simple things. However, as the smashers knew, it was very reliable.

"According to my magic ball," Zelda said, staring intensively into the power of the ball. "Samus was…kidnapped." Everyone rose up slightly from their bored or hopeless expressions. Master Hand rushed right to Zelda.

"By who?" Master Hand inquired desperately. Zelda now wore a frown and her head drooped sadly.

"I don't know," Zelda said regretfully. Everything seemed hopeless; Samus didn't seem likely to be found. However, just when tears started to be shed, Link again stood up.

"Wait," Link said. "Samus's armor was off." Everyone looked at the empty power suit left on the wall. Mario looked at it, then jumped up excitedly.

"And ah Peachy is here!" If everyone wasn't confused before, then they were then. Samus's armor was there, and so was Peach. So what, everyone thought. It made no sense.

"Bowser came…to capture Peach," Master Hand muttered thoughtfully. "But she's here…we don't have Bowser, so he must have run awa-" Everyone smiled. They knew where Samus was, even if nobody would admit it. It was as if a secret code was broken, and everyone saw it unfurl it's secrets right before their eyes. Mario didn't need anyone to say it.

"Let's ah go!" Mario exclaimed, doing a fancy jump out of the mansion. Everyone followed his lead into the desert, stained with death. Link didn't go.

"Just Mario and I will go," Link warned. "Or else Bowser might invade again." Everyone nodded, and saluted the plumber and peasant on their way to the volcano. Pikachu, however, slipped away from the smashers, somehow unseen, and joined Link and Mario.

**

Samus just sat silently on her chair. On one hand, she didn't like Bowser at all, but on the other hand, she saw a side of Bowser that she never thought she'd see; weakness, guilt, and love. It wasn't something Bowser was associated with. Love? Of course not. Samus reassured herself that Bowser was acting, or that he wasn't in love with her, but her butt, or breasts, or any of that. Bowser couldn't love, at least, in Samus's mind.

Koopas were crowded around Bowser, probably offering support to him. Other koopas sneered at Samus, the woman who broke their king's heart. The majority of the koopas, though, continued doing all sorts of things, mostly in square formations that reminded Samus of the space pirates. So organized, so numerous, and so loyal to Ridely.

For a force that seemed so organized and intelligent, she wondered why the volcano seemed relatively empty. She would have thought it would be filled to capacity with advanced technology. It was quite large though. Samus wondered if there was a basement or an underground base beneath the volcano, as Bowser couldn't keep his koopas in the volcano. As she pondered this, however, Bowser approached, seemingly out of nowhere.

"Samus," he said, his voice now cold. It stung Samus to see the change in Bowser. After only two hours since she told him how she felt. "I do love you. But, that means that if you indeed don't love me back, then I'll let you go." Bowser grabbed the rope, and was about to rip it off. However, he looked sadly into Samus's eyes.

Samus saw the unexplainable grief in his eyes as he was about to cut the rope with his claw. Samus put her hand on his paw. She was shocked by that.

"_No…am I stopping this monster from freeing me?" _Samus wondered. Suddenly, she heard a crash, and Bowser whirled around to see a large chunk of the wall busted, and koopas knocked out underneath it. Bowser didn't bother looking at Link, or Pikachu. Instead, he growled and blew smoke out of his nostrils, almost filling up the volcano.

"Mario!" Bowser angrily bellowed. "Get out of my volcano!" Mario said nothing, but just stared back at Bowser.

"Koopas! Take Samus down there!" Bowser ordered quickly. The koopas picked up Samus, and held her chair.

Suddenly, she felt herself black out for what seemed like a second, and when she opened her eyes, she was in a well lit place, not like the volcano. It was carpeted, and was well guarded with koopas that had hammers. They also had good helmets, which made Samus figure that they were the elite. Samus realized that this must have been what Bowser called "down there".

**

"Alright Mario…" Bowser muttered, hate going throughout his voice. "I tried to be nice, but when your face comes up, it's bye bye Mr. Nice Bowser!" With that, the koopas stepped back, far away from Bowser and Mario. Link and Pikachu were right behind Mario. Link suddenly drew his sword. The noise made that familiar sound that meant he was ready for a fight. Pikachu crouched down and glared at Bowser, his whiskers sparking.

Bowser let out an Earth shattering roar. Rocks fell from the walls, coming down directly on the volcano. Pikachu, being nimble, quick, and small, easily dodged them. He rolled to the left, the right, and even backwards. Link put his shield over his head, remembering the time he was on Death Mountain, back when it was an active volcano. Link struggled to hold it over his head as the rocks, easily the size of Link, pounded on his shield. Link felt like he was being driven into the ground. He let out a breath of relief as the rocks stopped.

Mario, thinking fast, caught the first rock that fell on him, and hurled it with all his might back at Bowser. Bowser's concentration was not with Mario, and he let out a roar of surprise when he felt the rock smash into his face, knocking him backwards and causing him to fall into a table.

Mario high-fived his two friends, and watched Bowser try, with great difficulty, to get on his feet. He rocked back and forth, groaning and grunting, trying to get off his shell. His koopas rushed to his aid. They grabbed their king, and grunting under his weight, flipped him back on his feet. Bowser's face was red with anger, and his eyes became bloodshot.

"Link! Pikachu!" Mario said. "Go back to the mansion, and get everyone! Now!" Mario's urgency frightened Link and Pikachu, motivating them to run back to the mansion as fast as they could. Sweat poured down their faces as they took off, one again in the hot sun.

"Just you and me, plumber!" Bowser declared, breathing out a large fireball. Mario did a back flip, just barely making it over the ball of fire. He felt the heat against his face, perhaps burning his facial hair. Mario felt relieved he wasn't hit by it.

Mario landed skillfully, earning a growl from his nemesis. At first, Mario feared the koopas would attack and surround him. Bowser, as if he heard his thoughts, turned to his koopas.

"Don't interfere!" Bowser ordered. The koopas stood still. Mario smirked a bit.

"_Psh, you and your pride," _Mario thought to himself. Mario jumped once, then, when he landed, jumped once more, making himself literally fly over Bowser. When Mario thought he was over Bowser, he did a ground pound.

Bowser never saw it coming. When it connected, Bowser felt quite dizzy, and had a hard time keeping his balance. Bowser looked at Mario, and with all the concentration he could muster, he stomped on the ground. The stomp sent a large shock wave, easily a foot tall, fly at Mario. Mario saw it, and was about to dodge, but the wave already hit him. It was too fast to even react to. Mario found himself in the air, waving his arms and legs around and thrashing everywhere. Instead, he fell back down on the hard ground. The pain surged through his entire body, and Mario even bounced a little bit.

Mario fought through the pain and got up, staring at a smiling Bowser. Mario was a bit worried. He had always relied on Bowser's mistakes to use, but this time, Bowser made no mistakes, it seemed. Mario shot several fireballs. It felt good to release all that heat, and gave Mario a sense of coolness in his body.

Two fireballs hit Bowser, angering him. He let out a roar of pain, since fire was his weakness. Bowser crouched low, like a lion stalking it's prey. Bowser then leaped high in the air, easily besting Mario's jump. Mario stared in awe at Bowser, actually floating in the air somehow. He jumped a lot like Ness or Lucas did.

Bowser did two skillful flips in the air, and he came down feet first. It stunned Mario how fast he came down. Mario felt adrenaline rush through him as he leaped for safety. He slid on his stomach away from Bowser. He knew when he came down, since it created an aftershock, not unlike an Earthquake's aftershock. It made Mario jump back up, and face his attacker. However, Bowser's evil gaze and frustration didn't catch his eye so much as a massive crack did.

Mario had a mini flashback of their battle on top of the mansion. Mario remembered the entire battle, as if it were a movie playing before his very eyes. He remembered the jumps, the stomps, the fire, and the crack. Mario snapped his fingers, and smiled. He recognized that crack.

"What are you grinning at, plumber?" Bowser asked fiercely. Mario spoke up.

"I ah bet you can't ah do that again!" Mario challenged. "In ah fact, you can not ah hit me with that ah super stomp!" Bowser's face got incredibly red, like a ripened tomato, and he roared, allowing fire to come out of his mouth. Mario rolled to the side, watching the fire turn the red walls black.

"Fine plumber!" Bowser agreed. "Stand where you want, and I'll crush you!" Mario almost laughed, but held it back as best as he could. He chose to stand right on the crack. Bowser backed up and took a deep breath.

"Just ah do it!" Mario ordered. Bowser smiled.

"Say goodnight, plumber!" Bowser taunted. He crouched very low, almost getting on all fours, and leaped higher in the air than ever before, now completely awing Mario. He couldn't believe it. Bowser had actually jumped out of the top of the volcano. Mario couldn't see the shadow on himself anymore, or if it was still there, it was far too small.

Mario heard a small whistle, and it suddenly kept getting louder. Mario recognized it as a whistle that was heard when air rushed through something. He jumped to the side, relying on his instincts, and sure enough, he just barely dodged Bowser coming down, and hard enough to where he caused a terrible smash. The entire volcano rocked because of it, and threw Mario and every koopa to the ground.

Bowser felt the ground begin to sink, and then he felt himself almost collapse through the floor.

"Oh, not again!" Bowser cried, now falling down a newly created hole. Mario looked down it, only peeking into it with his head. He saw Bowser slowly disappear within the darkness of the abyss, but the sound of his scream never got quieter.

"Pika! HI!" A high pitched voice cried. Mario recognized it immediately, and turned around to see Pikachu and everyone, minus Master Hand.

"Once again the great Super Mario triumphed!" Ike teased, lightly punching Mario's arm. "We actually saw that! Bowser just crushed himself like, right into his own floor!"

"My hero!" Peach squealed, giving Mario a kiss on the cheek. Mario blushed heavily, not just because he always did that, but because she had done that in front of everyone.

Everyone nodded with wide smiles on their faces, but the smiles faded when they looked around. Koopas were dazed from the huge stomp; some were completely KO'd. However, Samus wasn't anywhere to be found.

"I think ah Samus is ah down there!" Mario assumed. Pikachu went up to the hole, and let loose a ball of electricity. It lit the hole as it traveled, becoming dimmer and dimmer before it finally disappeared.

"I can go down there!" Pikachu decided. "I can climb stuff like that easy!" Mario put his hand to his chin.

"Go ahead!" Link chimed. "Just be careful!" Pikachu nodded and slowly climbed down. Pikachu's heart raced as his small paw gripped on the metal. Before he knew it, the smashers watching slowly got smaller, and smaller.

**

"You hear something?" Samus wondered aloud. The koopas shrugged. Samus's forehead furrowed in thought. "I seriously hear something. It's like a…cry." It slowly got louder and louder. The koopas looked around the large room too, looking for the source of the odd noise. Out of nowhere, the noise began to get extremely loud.

"What the…?" A koopa muttered. He couldn't finish his thought. The ceiling collapsed and Bowser smashed into the floor. Rocks, the size of Bowser, flew throughout the room, hitting Koopas and easily crushing them. They flew like massive bullets; they caught koopas totally in surprise, and before they knew it, they were flatter than pancakes. Bowser was on the ground, sprawled all around. Samus was in total shock, in total disbelief of what just happened.

Bowser groaned, so he was alive, but his eyes were closed and he didn't move. Samus looked around when the dust settled. Every koopa was either slammed into the wall, crushed under Bowser, or crushed by a rock. Samus began to chuckle, for she was incredibly lucky to be alive. Samus couldn't help but stare at the face of her kidnapper.

"Samus!" A voice called. Samus immediately knew who it was, and smiled.

"Pikachu!" Samus cried out in happiness. She looked straight up, and she saw a large hole, or tube, that seemed to connect to the surface. Pikachu's face poked out of it. Samus saw the cute mouse, and his smile that formed when he first saw her. Pikachu let go of the side, and he fell, completely trusting Samus to catch him. Samus held out her arms, and Pikachu immediately fell into them.

"How do we get back up?" Samus immediately wondered. Pikachu was suddenly silent, and the smile turned into a frown.

"Um…I hadn't thought of that," Pikachu quietly admitted. The two stayed silent, neither knowing what to say. A loud cracking sound, and a groan, was heard. Samus turned around to see Bowser attempting to stand. Samus grimaced a bit when she saw his difficulty and heard snapping and cracking of bones. He was terribly injured.

"I-it's rough on the sides of it," Bowser said quietly, his face contorted with pain. "You should be able to climb it…" Bowser stopped trying to get up. He held his upper body up with his two arms, but he wasn't strong enough to get on his feet. Pikachu climbed to the top of Samus's head, causing her to giggle a bit because of the tickling feeling it gave her.

"I'll meet you up there, Pikachu!" Samus called out. Pikachu smiled and climbed very quickly back up. Samus was amazed at how far away the surface was; Pikachu probably wasn't at the top yet, however, Samus lost sight of the yellow mouse.

Samus stared at Bowser's eyes. Bowser himself didn't look into Samus's eyes; he felt too ashamed. He was defeated by Mario twice. His plans all failed. His koopa troop was decimated, and his hideout was found. Worse off, he knew in his heart that Samus hated him, which was worse than any beating Mario could ever give.

Samus took a deep breath. _"I can't believe I'm gonna do this,"_ Samus thought. She knelt down so she was inches from Bowser's face. He was breathing hard, and it was choppy and rapid as well.

"I'm sorry, Sam-" Bowser started to say. Samus cut him off. She leaned in, and kissed Bowser on the lips. Bowser's eyes bulged in surprise, and his heart raced to beyond anything he felt before. Bowser was elated with a feeling like he had never felt before. He almost wanted to jump on a mountain and scream his heart out.

Samus backed away. She couldn't believe what she had done. However, a part of her felt as if she actually wanted to kiss him. She didn't like these thoughts, and tried to cover them up with thoughts of Bowser's evil deeds.

Samus stared up through the hole, and easily jumped up, grabbing hold of the rough wall. Samus climbed upwards without a word, disappearing from Bowser's sight. However, Bowser saw her face poke through one more time. Bowser's heart raced even faster, and it was almost painful.

"Bowser," Samus said, extremely sweet and surprisingly softly with a smile on her face. "If you ever kidnap me again, instead of a kiss, you'll get a beating." Samus winked, and blew a kiss before climbing back up.

Bowser let out a loud sigh, and fainted completely.

* * *

**Aww, now isn't that cute! All's well that end's well! Read and review! And wish this story luck! I hope it wins!**


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